In U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,937 granted Feb. 18, 1992, there is disclosed a right-angle coaxial jack connector having an outer metallic shielding and grounding shell containing a coaxial transmission path for ultra high frequency signals with the shell including parts that fit together to seal the connector against contamination and radiation. The shell and cooperating metal parts minimize radiation from signal energy carried by the connector and interference with signals carried by the connector by radiation external to the connector as well as providing a grounding function for circuits connected by the connector. The various parts that form the shell include elements that prevent internal contamination by flux, solder products and the like, when the connector is soldered to a printed circuit board as part of an assembly for electronic apparatus. The patented jack connector includes relatively fine posts extending from the rear bottom thereof that are fitted into holes in a printed circuit board to be soldered thereto to effect the grounding connection of the shell that serves as a shield. The shell and associated parts are typically formed by die casting zinc or zinc alloys which elements are then trimmed to prepare the exterior surfaces for the necessary plating to control oxidation of the connector. Typically, the parts are washed, scrubbed, mechanically or chemically, and then plated with various platings including tin, nickel, gold, or, in certain occasions, silver, these various platings being combined to prevent migration of the zinc constituents through to the surface of the outside plating. Most typically, the parts are barrel plating requiring a tumbling in the plating operation with considerable mechanical stress to the parts. It has been discovered that the most frequent loss of elements is during the tumbling operation and/or handling or subsequent assembly of the parts, particularly the small posts that are made integral with the shell.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector construction that facilitates manufacture, including plating and assembly, with minimum damage to the fine posts utilized to solder a connector shell to a printed circuit board or the like. It is a further object to provide an improved construction and method relative to the prior art in making electrical connectors.
It is a still further object to provide an improved UHF-type connector assembly and method of manufacture.